McLaren's proposed Woking Grand Prix has been described as "a mistimed April Fool's joke", "absurdly ambitious" and just plain "absurd".

But this is in fact a serious opportunity for a town on the up to reach the logical conclusion of its development and take its place alongside such glittering Grand Prix cities as Monaco, Singapore and, of course, Mogyoród.

There are, of course, plenty of practical reasons why we should support this plan, light-hearted though it may be.

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For one, it involves resurfacing roads in the centre of town, finally forcing Surrey County Council to fill in all those potholes and prevent more from developing.

And, if only for one weekend a year, it will comprehensively solve Woking's traffic problems by simply closing all the roads so the Grand Prix can take place. You can't sit in traffic if you can't drive anywhere.

Yes, this will all take time and will require large parts of the town centre to be given over to roadworks and building sites. But now is the ideal time for that.

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After all, will you really notice the difference?

(Image: McLaren)

This is not to mention the significant benefit to Formula 1 itself of having a hugely challenging course, where die-hard fans can watch the best drivers stretched to their limit and casual viewers are guaranteed some spectacular crashes.

But the most significant reason we should support a campaign to bring Formula 1 to Woking is symbolic.

Woking is an ambitious town with a sense of purpose and a wide-reaching redevelopment plan, not unlike Shanghai of the mid-2000s when it hosted its first Grand Prix.

(Image: McLaren)

In order to announce Woking's arrival as a modern, thrusting metropolis, it needs a major event. Formula 1's fusion of glamour and technology is sure to represent exactly the sort of town Woking wants to be.

And best of all, with Silverstone pulling out of hosting the British Grand Prix in the next few years, the opening for a new host will appear just as work on Victoria Square, that symbol of modern Woking , comes to its conclusion.

We at Get Surrey can think of no better way to celebrate Woking's advance than sipping champagne while watching Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and the rest screaming down the home straight from the comfort of the Ray Morgan Memorial Grandstand.

Besides, where else would they host a British Grand Prix, Guildford?

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